Yemeni Minister Criticizes UNHCR over National Commission of Inquiry

Riyadh-Yemeni Human Rights Minister Izzedine al-Asbahi said that reports of international non-governmental organizations and inaccurate news in Western media have led to political pressure on Western missions at the United Nations Human Rights Council (OHCHR) with regards to the condition of human rights in Yemen.

Asbahi told Asharq al-Awsat that Yemen and the Saudi-led Arab coalition need a real strategy to combat this issue.

“We should be fully aware that at a certain point the OHCHR intersects with the international and regional political interests. For this, we should clarify our image in front of the Western public, find ways to prepare equally impressive reports and have a media and political strategy to deal with lobbies in European countries and the U.S.,” he said.

The Yemeni Human Rights Minister accused the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights of thwarting the attempts of the Yemeni National Commission of Inquiry to carry out an independent probe into human rights violations in Yemen by presenting a report that claims the Commission has not been fulfilling its tasks.

He continued: “We were surprised that the report of the UNHCR was issued in July instead of August; the report was published early to give an absolute proof that the Yemeni National Commission did not present its reports on time.”

The minister said at that moment he became certain that the UNHCR report was unprofessional and intended to show the failure of the committee whatsoever.

Asbahi thanked the Arab team which succeeded in changing the U.S. and European misconceptions.

“Yemen along with Arab ambassadors’ mission, headed by Sudan and including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Qatar, exerted tremendous efforts to prove its point of view … We thank our brother countries,” he added.